


A Deal In Gastown

by AliceTenenbaum



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-29 01:06:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5110817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceTenenbaum/pseuds/AliceTenenbaum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is falling and the existing government is in need of the assistance of the polecats. Except the only place to get them is in Gastown. And the military escort is on really bad terms with the boss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Deal In Gastown

**Author's Note:**

> I really like the headcannon that someone had that polecats are a Gastown specialty. Bits will appear in other stories definitely. Mabeline, probably not.

Mabeline and her military escort cautiously made their way through the shady streets of this “Gastown”. Everyone they passed wore a sort of mask and eccentric clothing, each as unique as the next. The escort got strange looks from these Gastowners, as they were called; Mabeline felt their eyes on them; no doubt because of their uniforms. They were military; from part of the world that still functioned. This part of the world, now at the bottom of the fucking Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia, had gone all to hell and reeked of dead sea creatures. The escort was used to the smell by now, but it still made them want to retch every now and then.  
Mabeline looked at a picture she held in her hand; it showed a small, shanty building with a stand out front covered by a tarp. A flaming skull insignia was spray painted on the front of the building. This was the place they were looking for. They were told that they would find what they needed there; they needed people in high places, on the lookout and ready to stand and fight at a moment's notice. She felt a tap on her shoulder; one of her escorts had spotted the building of interest. Mabeline studied it, then held up to photograph; yep, it was their building alright. Half of her wished they hadn't found it. She was not at all on good terms with the owner of the place. Hopefully they could make this quick. Get what they came for and leave. She took a deep breath and they approached the shaded stand. A man in a full face mask, spikes coming out of the top like long, stringy hairs, wearing a tight, grey tank top with baggy cargo pants. He wore a pair of leather gloves. His skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat; how could he wear as much clothes as he was?  
“What's it you need?” he asked, his voice ever so slightly muffled by the mask.  
“U-um, hello,” Mabeline stuttered in greeting. “I'm looking for a Kate Steiner.” She got no reaction from him. His face was probably as blank as his mask. “Short lady, dark red hair, glasses, kind of thick.” she clarified.  
He stared them down for a few seconds, then turned to yell into the building.  
“Hey Boss, there's someone out here lookin' for ya!”  
Bits groaned and rubbed her eyes before heaving herself out of her chair, grabbing her glasses off of the table in front of her. She was working on one of her polecat's torn masks, but if someone needed her outside, the mask would have to wait. She threw on her poncho to cover her shoulders and went out under the shade of the tarp. Before she could open her mouth to ask what these people wanted, she recognized Mabeline.  
“Kate! How nice to see you! Its me, Mabeline! Your sister!” she greeted cheerfully.  
She almost didn't recognize her with her hair cut like that. She remembered Kate with long red hair, and now she had both sides and the back shaved with the rest chopped mostly off and pulled back into a ponytail. Under her poncho, she could see that she wore nothing but a sports bra and a pair of more fitted cargo pants. Bits' face scrunched into a scowl.  
“First of all don't give me that 'nice to see you' bullshit, you bitch. You've got a lot of fucking balls to be coming around here,” she started. Mabeline's escort was taken back by the harshness and bluntness in her voice. “Second of all, no one calls me Kate. Not anymore. Its Bits now and I don't answer to anything else.”  
“I'm...sorry, Bits, but we've come here looking for some help,” Mabeline told her.  
“Must be urgent. I don't want to know how much your government paid someone to track me down.”  
The government paid a lot more than they intended to find her so she'd better be worth it.  
“We need your polecats,” Mabeline told her.  
Bits raised an eyebrow. So she didn't come to talk. She came for business. She leaned on the counter.  
“My polecats, huh? What do you want them for?”  
“Area survey, alarms, fighting, they use the air to their advantage and we need that advantage. We're being raided for mined minerals left and right!”  
“How long are you planning on having them?”  
“No more than two days.”  
Bits hummed in thought. She could just kill Mabeline right now. No one would stop her. She sold her to a band of thugs for gas money about 15 years ago and she would never forgive her for that. But she was willing to do business, and that was always good. If things didn't work out, she would blow her head right off her shoulders.  
“Sounds reasonable. How many do you want?”  
“All of them. Every one you've got.”  
Bits leaned closer.  
“All of them? Are you sure? I've got thirty.”  
“Yes. All thirty of them. Now, look,” Mabeline pulled out a huge wad of money from her uniform jacket. “I've got two million dollars for your polecats. Do we have a deal?”  
Bits' eyes did not light up like she thought they would. She barely gave the money a disinterested glance.  
“I don't want your money,” she spat.  
“Its two million dollars, Kate. Bits,” she growled. “From the looks of this place, you could use it.”  
“I don't want your damn money! Its useless here!” Bits yelled. “Money doesn't get you shit down here. You want something, you'd better have some shiny valuables or guzzoline. Lots of the latter.  
“Guzzoline?”  
“Guzzoline, gasoline, same thing.”  
“You...want me to pay you in gas?”  
“Yes.”  
Mabeline relaxed her shoulders. This may be easier than she thought.  
“Ok, well, how much do you want?”  
“I want five gallons per polecat you're taking up front.”  
That was 150 gallons of gasoline up front. That was a lot of gas to be giving up at a time like this when it was starting to become a luxury.  
“Ooh, I don't know. Come on, I'm your big sis. Can't you cut me a deal or something?”  
Bits looked at the polecat behind her with a look of humorous disgust. Does she really think that's going to get her a discount? He shrugged and she turned to look at Mabeline again.  
“No. And because you tried to pull that shit on me, I want ten gallons per polecat. Up front.”  
“Oh, Jesus Christ, come on, Bits!”  
Seeing her sister in distress put a smile on Bits' face. If she thought that was outrageous, wait until she heard the payment per hour.  
“That's only the up front pay. Its ten gallons per hour for them all together. And uh...”she looked back at the polecat, squinting, as if she were determining his value. “Twenty gallons, and I, myself, get to shoot a high ranking military official for every one that doesn't come back.”  
“You?! Kill someone?! Ha! You used to be scared to touch a kitchen knife.”  
“You think she's kiddin'?” the polecat laughed. “Do you know how many people I've seen her shoot dead for tryin' to steal our guzzoline?”  
“Hell, you're lucky I haven't killed you yet,” Bits added. “Only reason you're still alive is because we're doing business.”  
Mabeline's grin dropped quickly. Again, she thrust the two million at Bits.  
“Please, Bits, just take the money. I can get you more if you want.”  
Bits impatiently smacked it all out of her hands, bills scattering everywhere. The escort team scrambled to pick them up before they blew away.   
“I said I don't want your fucking money! It is literally useless out here!” she nearly screamed. “You giving me bills out here is like me paying you in bottle caps; they're pretty, but you can't get anything for them.”  
“Bits, we cannot give you that much gas, and we can't just let you kill our military officials!”  
“Well, its a shame you came all the way out here to refuse my offer then.” She turned to leave, but then spun back around. “You know, I find it extremely amusing that you sold me for gas because you thought I was useless, and now here you are fifteen years later, crawling to me on your knees, begging me for help and paying me in the very thing you sold me for.”  
Mabeline sighed. Bits wasn't wrong at all. They really needed this help. What was more important; saving the world, or keeping a few men alive?  
“Alright, alright, fine. You have a deal. You get your guzzoline,” she finally agreed. “Christ, my boss is going to kill me,” she mumbled.  
“Oh, are we complaining about our bosses now? My boss is a fat, bald, white man with giant, swollen, rancid-smelling feet and he cuts holes in his suit jackets so he can rub his nipple piercings. My job is to house the polecats, feed them, and keep them happy. Do you know how much it costs to feed thirty men every day? Its not cheap. And do you know what will happen to me if I don't keep the cats in shape? I get to find out why my boss is called the People Eater.”  
Mabeline and the escort just stared at her in shock.  
“Why don't you just leave? You can come with us when this is all over,” Mabeline offered.  
“Because these boys are my family. I've been taking care of them for nearly nine years now and I know they would never leave my side and I won't do them wrong. Now hurry up and give me my pay before I retract my offer.”  
Mabeline sighed, but nonetheless, called in to the base via radio and told them to bring over 300 gallons of gasoline and prepare a lot more. Hours later, the gas tanks started rolling in. Bits grinned excitedly; this would keep her and the boys fed for months and months to come. Mabeline stood beside Bits and watched as they packed it all away in the building. In a way, she was glad that she could help her sister. Seeing a smile that big on her face warmed her heart.  
“Well, here you are. Three hundred gallons of guzzoline.”  
Bits took one of Mabeine's hands and shook it firmly. The handshake of a successful deal.  
“Mabeline, its been a pleasure doing business with you.”


End file.
